Barcelona beachgoers restricted as Spain cases concern European neighbors

Madrid Desk, Jul 25 (efe-epa).- New coronavirus outbreaks in Spain have prompted regional leaders to reimpose restrictions while other European nations updated their travel advice in response.

Elsewhere, leisure centers in England reopened their doors and Portuguese researchers have developed a mask that can disable the virus that causes Covid-19.

SPAIN

A 60 percent capacity limit for beachgoers in Barcelona came into effect on Saturday as the region of Catalonia announced 1,492 new coronavirus cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours.

Authorities in Spain’s second biggest city have ordered nightclubs to close and made mask use obligatory in all public spaces.

Officials in neighboring Aragón are also dealing with a possible second wave of infections and the cities of Zaragoza and Huesca returned to restrictions that were in force during the second phase of the country’s gradual easing of the lockdown, which officially expired on 21 June after three months of keeping the population largely housebound.

During a speech in northwest Spain, King Felipe VI called for “diligence and prudence” to confront the new outbreaks.

Spanish health authorities have detected some 11,000 new cases in the last seven days, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 270,000. There have been a total of over 28,400 deaths although figures hit minimal levels by the end of the lockdown.

BELGIUM

Belgian authorities have banned all non-essential travel to the Spanish cities of Huesca and Lleida due to a strong uptick in coronavirus cases. The move came after Norway reimposed obligatory quarantine for travelers returning from Spain.